Tom Scheerer Inc.

Traditional Pattern Play Meets Modern Wit

Photos by Francesco Lagnese

Taking inspiration from a Parisian room by Valerian Rybar (once dubbed the world’s most expensive decorator), Tom Scheerer conceived a Dallas afterdinner-drinks-room-cum-library that is anything but hushed. “The space is historically inspired, with a range of design styles that, when mixed together, create a sense of timelessness,” says the architect, author and founder of Tom Scheerer, Inc., in Manhattan and West Palm Beach. On an animal print carpet, Scheerer placed a pair of wooden klismos chairs found on 1stDibs, a ceramic garden stool and hand-painted cubes with a tortoiseshell finish next to chairs upholstered in Pierre Frey’s La Riviere Enchantee fabric, which he also used on matching banquettes. Works by Frank Stella and a colorful canvas by abstract artist and celebrated gallerist Betty Parsons “introduce modern art in a space with more traditional upholstery forms and textiles,” Scheerer notes. By the window is a vignette showcasing an unlikely pairing of 1stDibs finds, in which, the designer explains, Fabio Novembre’s Her chairs — a 2008 anatomically correct design in polyethylene — “bring a touch of playful informality to an otherwise serious antique tric trac table.”

Tom Scheerer Inc.’s Picks

French Mahogany Tric Trac Games Table, 18th Century Shop Now
French Mahogany Tric Trac Games Table, 18th Century
After Robsjohn-Gibbings Pair of Ebonized-Leather and Rope Klismos Chairs, 20th Century Shop Now
After Robsjohn-Gibbings Pair of Ebonized-Leather and Rope Klismos Chairs, 20th Century
Filippo Perego Small Chest of Drawers, 1973 Shop Now
Filippo Perego Small Chest of Drawers, 1973
Ernst Moeckl Pair of Dark Red Kangaroo Chairs, 1968 Shop Now
Ernst Moeckl Pair of Dark Red Kangaroo Chairs, 1968
<i>Angriff</i>, 1971, by Frank Stella Shop Now
Angriff, 1971, by Frank Stella
Ward Bennett Pair of Tufted Club Chairs, 1970s Shop Now
Ward Bennett Pair of Tufted Club Chairs, 1970s
Maison Baguès Pair of Brass Floor Lamps with Black Shades, 1950 Shop Now
Maison Baguès Pair of Brass Floor Lamps with Black Shades, 1950